It's probably the best philosophy for the Tigers, considering how things went last year.

McKeesport (11-11 in 2011-12) overcame a slow early-season start to win three of its final four section games and eke into the WPIAL Class AAAA playoffs. It defeated Norwin in a preliminary-round game at California (Pa.) and led top-seeded Shaler by 12 before losing, 50-47.

“We grew up a lot playing against the No. 1 team. The thing that stood out for me the most from that game was that the guys were angry that we lost, even though a lot of people probably thought that ... we would be a one and done,” Gadson said. “We just keep reminding each other of that feeling, and hopefully that experience will help us.”

It certainly didn't help losing a key inside player before the school year. Junior forward Jaquan Davidson transferred to Elizabeth Forward, where he quarterbacked the Warriors' football team to its first playoff berth since 2005. Davidson was an integral part of the Tigers' scheme and netted what would have been the tying 3-pointer against Shaler with 16.6 seconds left, but the basket was disallowed because of a timeout.

Senior center Lucas Blacka (6-foot-6), who was sidelined for the playoffs with a broken foot, will be relied upon to fill the lane and pick up the scoring slack.

Even without Davidson, McKeesport has three starters returning, including junior point guard William Gadson, senior forward Jamie Grayson and senior shooting guard Carlitto Acie, the team's leading scorer last season. Acie again will key the offense, while senior Damonje Walker and junior Mikell Moore, who were solid off the bench last season, will have more prominent roles when the team opens Friday against Obama Academy.

“We've kind of got a veteran group that has seen a lot of action, and those guys are back,” Corey Gadson said. “We're expecting our veterans to step up and help us.”

While the boys have a considerable amount of returning experience, the opposite is true of the girls program, as the Lady Tigers lost almost the entire 2011-12 roster to graduation. For McKeesport (6-16 in 2011-12) to be competitive, it will have to grow up in a hurry around senior guard Kasey Dansak.

“She's played varsity basketball since she was a sophomore and … Kasey is a very coachable person, but we're looking that we have a bunch of very young girls that are very energetic,” Lady Tigers coach Eric Smith said. “They're excited and they're very willing to learn.”

Still, having a young team could make for a long season for the Lady Tigers, who have not qualified for the WPIAL Class AAAA playoffs since losing to Bethel Park in the opening round of the 2010 tournament.

“We're going to try to use the one player we've got coming back and try to build on her experience,” Smith said. “These young kids are very coachable, but they have a lot to learn about playing basketball at the Quad-A level.”

Keith Barnes is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at kbarnes@tribweb.com or 412-664-9161 Ext. 1977.

TribLive commenting policy

You are solely responsible for your comments and by using TribLive.com you agree to our Terms of Service.

We moderate comments. Our goal is to provide substantive commentary for a general readership. By screening submissions, we provide a space where readers can share intelligent and informed commentary that enhances the quality of our news and information.

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderating decisions are subjective. We will make them as carefully and consistently as we can. Because of the volume of reader comments, we cannot review individual moderation decisions with readers.

We value thoughtful comments representing a range of views that make their point quickly and politely. We make an effort to protect discussions from repeated comments  either by the same reader or different readers.

We follow the same standards for taste as the daily newspaper. A few things we won't tolerate: personal attacks, obscenity, vulgarity, profanity (including expletives and letters followed by dashes), commercial promotion, impersonations, incoherence, proselytizing and SHOUTING. Don't include URLs to Web sites.

We do not edit comments. They are either approved or deleted. We reserve the right to edit a comment that is quoted or excerpted in an article. In this case, we may fix spelling and punctuation.

We welcome strong opinions and criticism of our work, but we don't want comments to become bogged down with discussions of our policies and we will moderate accordingly.

We appreciate it when readers and people quoted in articles or blog posts point out errors of fact or emphasis and will investigate all assertions. But these suggestions should be sent via e-mail. To avoid distracting other readers, we won't publish comments that suggest a correction. Instead, corrections will be made in a blog post or in an article.

Print Source

Welcome to PrintSource, a division of Trib Total Media.

We have established a veteran team that provides daily and weekly newspaper companies with a comprehensive set of services that include design, print, packaging and delivery of their products, all from one source and location.

Gone are the days when each facet of newspaper printing and delivery had to be outsourced to different companies and venues. Now, PrintSource provides a viable solution with just one phone call.

Digital Sales

We offer a wide variety of traditional and new digital advertising options customized to fit your needs!

Whether you're just starting out, or you've been a keystone in the community for years, our knowledgeable staff can provide you with a customized package including online banners/advertisements, Social Media Marketing (Facebook / Twitter), Website development, Search Engine Optimization, Email Marketing solutions and much more!

Contact your local sales rep today for details, personalized proposal and a meeting to discuss how we can meet your needs.